Thoughts and commentary about the janitorial and office cleaning business.

05/04/2016

Cleaning air ducts - not so much

I've noticed a bit of conversation of late about air duct cleaning. We do list duct cleaning as one of a good number of services we offer through our Phoenix building maintenance firm (Arizona is a dusty area), but we don't push it.

Generally, if there is dust in the duct-work, it will either blow out, or not. If it blows out, it is no longer in the duct, so one doesn't need to clean the duct; if it doesn't blow out, it doesn't enter the room, so it's not a problem. In fact, various studies show an increase in indoor airborne dust after duct cleaning, given that cleaning stirs up the particles that were not bothering us beforehand.

The only exceptions I see are in a really bad situation - the contractor left a lot of debris during installation - or if the particles are being created ongoing within the duct, as in mold growing due to a moisture problem. In that case, you rather need to deal with the moisture first.

The occasional call I get from a client involves dust buildup around vents. A certain amount of dust is normal; much greater air flow adjacent to a vent gives particles already in the air stream a chance to hit, say, acoustical ceiling tile. If I see excessive dust, I assume dust must be entering the duct-work from somewhere, either above the false ceiling or in the attic, or exterior to the building (both dusty environments). Dust - and air - will only enter the duct if sucked in, so we need only inspect the (low pressure) air return side of the system. Look for a leak in the return. That might be an old and deteriorated joint in the duct-work, or one that's been jostled during some kind of service visit (plumbers, electricians), or - most commonly, in my experience - the coupling between the AC unit and the duct-work (sometimes disconnected during a service visit, and not re-connected properly). In each case, you need to fix the problem - re-seal the duct - and the dust will stop entering.

What we do stress in offering Phoenix commercial janitorial services, as far as dust control is involved, is HEPA filtration on our vacuums, a lot of microfiber technology, treated entry mats, lot sweeping, and ongoing monitoring of indoor air quality. As we say, "breath easy".

We've offered janitorial services in Phoenix since 1974; hold the BBB's A-plus rating; and have long been in the forefront of the industry in environmentally sensitive cleaning for health, safety and security. Our office cleaning program can generally improve Indoor Air Quality, in the size range of most allergens, by a factor of 50%, as reflected in our ongoing IAQ sampling. We also furnish Green Seal certified recycled restroom paper products and janitorial supplies.